9 November 2008
The world famous aquatic planted tank contest results are now online. Each year over 1000 aquarists submit their gorgeous tanks for ranking and judges have the hard job of deciding who is the best in the world.

14 October 2008
The trade has been quietly developing a DNA test that can detect over 60 different organisms (from bacteria, through viruses, to fungi and parasites) in only 1.5 days. So whilst not yet available for individuals, it will currently bring huge rewards to importers of aquarium livestock and can only benefit the end customers - us!

3 July 2008Young recruits from the Chinese People's Liberation Army threw off their shoes and stood knee-deep in the thick green algae that has overwhelmed the Qingdao coastline. The pictures themselves are overwhelming, see the BBC news site here.

18 April 2008
No doubt due to increasing competition from the likes of Tetra Safestart and One and Only, Hagen's Nutrafin Cycle product has reformulated it's product. This product has been around for 25 years and whilst it never made any claims about its performance, it remained a popular item with the average aquarium shop if not with serious aquarists.

Goldie is a 15 year old comet goldfish. He's 1 ft 3" long, 5" tall and weighs around 2 lbs. He could be a contender for the Guinness Book of World Records, but do you know of larger fish? Personally, I think Goldie has earned himself a tank upgrade!
More info here

The BBC News article tells of a chemical compound that appears to cure amphibians of this serious fungus which is decimating amphibians to the point of extinction in the wild and in domestic aquariums worldwide.

Tropica add two new plants to their already large range of aquatic plants.
This time it's a beautiful foreground or carpet plant with curled leaves called Pogostemon helferi from Thailand and an attractive background Echinodorus hybrid they call Echinodorus 'Red diamond'.

Scientists from around the world are meeting Thursday and Friday in Atlanta, USA to organize a worldwide effort to stem the deaths caused by the deadly Chytrid fungus by asking zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens to take in threatened frogs until the fungus can be stopped.

The aim of the group called Amphibian Ark is to prevent the world's more than 6,000 species of frogs, salamanders and sicilians from disappearing. Scientists estimate up to 170 species of frogs have become extinct in the past decade from the fungus and other causes, and an additional 1,900 species are seriously threatened.

[It is believed that the common frog pet, the African Clawed Frog, has helped spread this fungus across the world as it is a known carrier of the fungus and so doesn't die from it.
Pet shops selling this frog untreated for the fungus are probably infecting the other aquatic pet frog, the Dwarf African Frog. Owners then perform water changes and may unwittingly infect their local gardens and water systems with the fungus. Which kills their local amphibian population.]